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Harvest

Although Harvest services
are not part of the traditional church year,
farmers have long celebrated the end of the corn
harvest with a meal and a party called the
'Harvest Home'. Harvest services may take place
any time in the autumn to thank God for the
harvest.

Harvest Dreams

Tread softly because you
tread on farmers' dreams.

Of what does a farmer dream?

In the U. K.
Of a rich harvest?
Of a good price for the crop, covering costs with
something left over.
Of enough capital to see him through the bad
times.
Of security - for himself and his family.
Of a good well-managed farm to pass on to his
children, as his father passed it to him.

It may be easier to ask
what does a farmer fear?
Because fear of failure is ever present!
Fear of too little rain - or too much.
Fear of rain and wind spoiling a good crop.
Fear of low prices for his produce, falling bank
balances and an overdraft refused.
Fear of sickness or injury - how will my family
cope without me?

And all these apply in the
world wide farming community
along with other fears:-
Fear of total crop failure.
Fear of an invasion of locusts, leaving just bare
earth where there was a green field.
Fear of drought - lasting for months not just a
few weeks.
Fear of picky buyers for the crop -
refusal could mean disaster.
Fear of starvation:- no rain, no grass, no
cattle, no crop, no sales. Nothing for tomorrow.

And for the the
consumer?
Do you remember the fuel shortage in September
2000?
Have you ever seen a Supermarket with no food on
its shelves?
Our food supply appears secure.
If the buyer does not like one farmer or country
he can make a deal elsewhere.
And it is so easy for us with our own
dream of cheap food to tread on the
dreams of others!
The prophet Isaiah expressed Gods
indignation when he spoke of Grinding the
face of the poor. (Isaiah 3 v. 15)

Love for our neighbour can
be expressed in treading very softly and
carefully in our choice of food.
A wise choice will mean fewer food
miles, Fair Traded imports
and a fair return for the primary producer
where-ever they may be.

An unwise choice can cause
irreversible damage to Gods world and
farmers everywhere.

The Rich Fool

Jesus
said to them, "Be careful and guard against all
kinds of greed. A man's life is not measured by the many
things he owns."

Then
Jesus used this story. "There was a rich man who had
some land, which grew a good crop of food. The rich man
thought to himself, 'What will I do? I have no place to
keep all my crops.' Then he said, 'I know what I will do.
I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones! I will
put all my grain and other goods together in my new
barns. Then I can say to myself, I have enough good
things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink,
and enjoy life!'

But
God said to that man, 'Foolish man! Tonight you will die.
So who will get those things you have prepared for
yourself?'"

"And
that," said Jesus, "is how it is with people
who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in
God's sight."